Organised by National Gallery
Join us to investigate what makes an ‘Old Master’ painting, and gain greater appreciation of the methods, materials, and ageing of these valued historic masterpieces.
About
Throughout this course, we will seek to examine what makes a painting an ‘Old Master’ painting. Historically, the term ‘Old Master’ has referred to artists that were trained and were the leading artists, or ‘masters’, of their local artist guilds. You can find many examples of artists in this category in the National Gallery. They include artists like Andrea Mantegna, Botticelli, Hans Holbein, Federico Barocci and Rachel Ruysch. The latter was the first woman to have earned the membership to the painters’ guild of The Hague.
In this course, we will seek to go beyond the names of famous artists, as the primary identifier for a masterwork. Instead, this course will focus on the close analysis of these historic paintings through a different lens. We will consider how the very material foundations and lived histories of these artworks, from their ageing and restoration, to their popularity at different time periods, can imbue these works with different layers of value, and ultimately categorise them as ‘Old Master’ paintings.